For many families throughout the United States, spring break is a time to escape from stress. However, for most Lake Forest Academy families that was not the case this year. Lake Forest Academy did not have its normal two week spring break and instead has been having multiple days off throughout the remainder of the school year. 

 The days that students and teachers are given off are called “cycle breaks.” These usually occur in the middle of the week — Wednesday. However, sometimes they are scheduled for the start or end of the week to give students and faculty a three day weekend. Lake Forest Academy is doing this in an attempt to stop families from traveling during the school year. 

LFA junior, James Christoph, acknowledged the hard work that the school has put in to keep their students and faculty safe from the COVID-19 pandemic. However, he still does wish that he could enjoy a restful two week break from school. When Christoph was asked to name a positive and negative of having no spring break, he said, “The biggest positive that comes from this year’s lack of spring break is the fact that we (the school) are able to keep students shielded from COVID due to the lack of travel, as for a negative I feel that students need the two week break in order to recharge for final exams.” 

Another Lake Forest Academy junior, David Sweet, mostly agrees with his classmate. Sweet stated that, “Not being able to travel and see family from other states is definitely a negative of having no spring break, however; I’d prefer to have cycle breaks this year because they help keep the LFA community safest during this strange and stressful time.” 

Students are not the only ones affected by the decision to have no spring break. Teachers and faculty members are affected by the change just as much. History teacher, Ackim Mpofu, believes that having a spring break is much more beneficial than having cycle breaks. “As much it is nice to have Wednesday skip days it does not feel like a normal break as students and teachers most likely have work to do during those days. It is something we do not necessarily feel over a short period of time but in the long term, it burns people,” Mpofu stated.

Having no spring break can be extremely difficult for Lake Forest Academy students and teachers. However, LFA has done a fantastic job of giving students enough time to rest, while keeping the school mostly safe from the pandemic. Many students and teachers would love to have spring break right now, but it should not be too big of a worry as keeping the school safe is much more important.